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Teamsters Local 251 makes $60,000 for Hasbro research center

By Common Ground staff EAST PROVIDENCE – The hundreds of Teamsters that work at Hasbro Children’s Hospital are concerned their workplace is one of the least funded facilities in the nation for cancer research. That concern served as motivation for members of Local 251, who recently raised $60,000 for the Bradley-Hasbro Children’s Research Center in Providence at the union’s firstever Driving for a Cure.

Plans are to hold the event annually, according to Joseph J. Bairos, secretarytreasurer and principal executive officer of the local. This year’s festivities were at the Rhode Island Convention Center and included a dinner, dancing and topnotch entertainment by members of the Dancin’ Spirits studio in Pawtucket.

The lead sponsor of the event was Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Bairos said. Other backers included Delta Dental and several law firms.

Driving for a Cure, Bairos said, demonstrates that the Teamsters are concerned about community issues, and that the union offers assistance whenever it can.

“People helping people: That is what the Teamsters are all about,” he said.

With Driving for a Cure in the rearview mirror for this year, Local 251 is working on fund-raisers for its scholarship fund. The first event will be a bike run June 3, starting at the union hall, 121 Brightridge Ave., at 11 a.m.

Motorcyclists will travel to the Music Lady in Plainfield, Conn., and then

back to the Back Street Bar & Grill in Warwick for a barbecue.

“For $20, participants receive a Teamsters’ commemorative pin, entertainment, a scenic ride and good company; and they get to eat. How can you beat that?” Bairos said.

If the weather is too bad, the bike run will be canceled, but the barbecue will still be held, he said, adding he anticipates between 100 and 150 motorcyclists will make the trek to Connecticut and back.

Following the bike run, the local will conduct a softball tournament at City Park in Warwick on Sept. 22.

The team entry fee is $20, Bairos said.

Players receive T-shirts and can munch on great food at bargain prices such as

hamburgers for $2 and hot dogs for $1.

The final event is a golf outing set for Oct. 5 at Foster Country Club. To play, golfers must pay $125, which covers a round of golf with cart, a continental breakfast, beverages, tickets for a raffle that will include top of the line golf equipment and a baked-stuffed chicken dinner. Registration begins at 8 a.m., and there will be a shotgun start at 10 a.m.

Local 251 awards 13 $1,000 scholarships annually to members’ children, and applications can be obtained at the union hall or by picking up a copy of the upcoming Teamster Report newsletter.

For more information about all of the fund-raisers, call (401) 434-0454, extensions 221 or 224.

Chafee municipal reform takes another whack at pensions

By Common Ground staff Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s municipal reform package is meant to bail out financially sinking cities and towns, but union leaders are calling it another attack on labor that would further slash local retirement benefits and roll back key collective bargaining rights.

“I think it’s definitely an attack on labor,” said David Hanos, president of the Newport Firefighters Local 1080.

“It’s going to cut most of the rights we have now.”

The municipal rescue plan encompasses seven different bills -almost all of them having an impact on local union members, especially firefighters, police officers and teachers, labor officials said.

Frank Flynn, president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, said the legislation

raises “concerns,” and that his union had testified against the legislation at the House hearing and plans to register its opposition before the Senate, particularly regarding a number of provisions that directly affect school services and teachers.

“Across the board, organized labor is opposed to the unilateral imposition of these bills,” Flynn said.

Pension reductions—again Many of the changes are geared toward retirement benefits. They would allow cities and towns to suspend cost of living adjustments (COLAs) if their pension plans are severely underfunded, at less than 60 percent. The legislation also would reduce disability pensions to half of employment salary for someone who is able to work elsewhere, and

United Nurses & Allied Professionals

would prohibit communities offering retirement benefits that are more generous than what the state has through the municipal employees retirement system (MERS).

“We’re against it,” said Mark Boisclair, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 4 in Pawtucket.

“The whole thing is wrong.”

Both Boisclair and Hanos said unions were the ones being forced to take the fall for financial problems that they did not cause. Hanos said the state was trying to change the rules of the playing field to cover up years of mismanagement by city and town administrations. “We’re going to be the ones who end up being taxed because they’re going to take away our pensions and our COLAs,” Hanos said.

He also took issue with the new state directive that limits the benefits that communities can offer, saying that Newport had an opportunity to enter the MERS and decided against it. “I just don’t like the idea that our state is going to decide what our local government is going to do,” Hanos said. “I don’t like that at all.”

Hanos said he also objected to the reduction of disability pension benefits.

That could happen in two ways under the reform proposal. Any community can institute a 50 percent disability benefit for those who are not completely disabled, but the requirement that a disabled retiree be able to work is not a precondition for reducing his benefit in “highly distressed communities,” according to an official summary of the See Pensions, page 4 R

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Common Ground

MAY 2012

Program helps workers climb career ladder

By Common Ground staff and Research.

PROVIDENCE – Public and private sector gurus The training focuses on job readiness skills, looking to fuel a sustainable economic recovery might high school equivalency requirements, English as want to take a look at Stepping Up – a mutually a second language, basic medical terminology, the beneficial labor-management health care career Health Insurance Accountability Act, first Aid, pathways program. cardiopulmonary resuscitation and safety regulations.

Under the leadership of Executive Director Aimee After that training, participants receive a 100-hour Brissette, Stepping Up will turn five years old in the fall when it is hoped the partnership will start a new medical assistant career development program at Roger Williams Hospital.

While Stepping Up assists workers with starting, changing and advancing their careers, it helps employers fill jobs with qualified personnel essential for the delivery of effective and cost efficient health care services.

The Stepping Up partners are the United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP), the Rhode Island Hospital Health Care Education Trust, Women and Infants’ Hospital, eight Ocean Statebased hospitals, the Thundermist and Providence Community Health centers, a number of nursing homes, providers of education and training, labor unions and funding sources, Students take one of the many classes offered by Stepping Up according to Brissette. unpaid internship at one of the Stepping Up employers, “How good is that,” he asked. and then get assistance with the job search process from In the community pipeline track, Stepping Up advisers and at weekly job club meetings. However, furnishes education and training to clients of The Brissette said, most participants are hired prior to Genesis Center and Dorcas Place Adult and Family completing their internships.

Learning Center in Providence; Connecting for “It gives participants the opportunity to become Children & Families and Family Resources Community familiar with the employer and the working Action in Woonsocket; and the Tower Street environment, and it gives an employer the chance to see Community Center in Westerly. if someone is a good worker,” Brissette said.

Low-income unemployed and underemployed The completion rate for Stepping Up is 97 percent, Rhode Islanders receive assistance to gain the skills and Brissette said, and the job placement rate for the experience necessary to obtain entry-level positions program is 80 percent. Employees’ involvement with in the health care industry. Individuals enroll in a Stepping Up does not end when they land a position. seven-week program of classroom training conducted Through what is termed the incumbent employee at Women and Infants and Rhode Island Hospital. track of the partnership, additional academic services, Instructors hail from the Community College of Rhode tutoring, mentoring and career guidance give workers Island, Stepping Up and the Institute for Labor Studies

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the opportunity to strengthen their skills and advance their careers.

Brissette stressed that Stepping up career advisers develop individual education plans and objectives for each student to help the participant stay focused and reach his or her goals. “It works. It really works,” he said.

The executive director credited his staff for much of the success of Stepping Up. Career advisers are Laura Carbone, Melissa Misiaszek, Elkinsette Clinton and Adrienne Irish-Newsome. Alaina Johnson is the associate director, and Katherine Gendreau is the program assistant.

Stepping Up is funded by the United Way, the Rhode Island Foundation, the governor’s Work Force Board and the City of Providence, according to Brissette, who also praised all of the Stepping Up partners. He pointed out Women and Infants and Rhode Island Hospital pay for college-related classes and provide free classroom space, and that personnel from the facilities develop course materials.

People interested in enrolling in Stepping Up or assisting someone they know with the process can call Dorcas Place at (401) 273-8866; Genesis at (401) 781-6110; Children and Families at (401) 776-3384; Family Resources at (401) 767-0866; and Tower Street at (401) 348-2715. Enrollees must have at least an eighth-grade literacy level and clear a criminal background check, Brissette said. For more information from Stepping Up, call (401) 831-2125, e-mail info@ steppingupri.org or go online to www.steppingupri.org.

Brissette is the third person to head Stepping Up. He has a teaching degree and his 28 years of experience directing education, housing and community development agencies include serving as executive director of the Lincoln Housing Authority. He started at Stepping Up in June 2008, seizing the opportunity to “merge two of my loves – work force development and health care.

Common Ground

Governor’s rescue package makes sweeping cuts to school services

By Common Ground staff

MAY 2012

Page 3

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John J. Tassoni, Jr. - Publisher

Public pensions could be due for another major cutback under Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s proposed municipal rescue package, but that may just be the tip of the iceberg. The legislation also makes sweeping changes to the rules that govern city budgets, how local money is managed and what can be achieved through collective bargaining.

“It’s basically trying to force us into a right to work state,” said David Hanos, president of the Newport Firefighters Local 1080 “I think it’s a disgrace … I personally don’t think it’s going to fix anything.”

Many of the other non-pension related changes affect public education.

In particular, the legislation focuses on so-called highly distressed communities defined as those in the bottom fifth among Rhode Island cities and towns in these four categories: percent of tax levy to the full value of all property in the community, the per capita income, the percent of personal income to full value of property and the per capita full value of property. The governor’s office has not yet publicized a list of which communities fall into the category of highly distressed.

Under House bill No. 8006 such communities would be able to do the following through an ordinance, according to the official summary from the governor’s office: • End perpetual contracts: Expired contracts would not be binding while unions and local administrations are in the arbitration process.

• Refuse extra pay for police who go back to school: Communities would not be required to reimburse police officers for continuing or supplemental education.

• Suspend step increases for teachers: A step is a kind of automatic pay increase for teachers that is based on seniority. .

• Eliminate the nurse-teacher rule: Schools would no longer have to employ “nurse-teachers” but instead could hire certified nurses.

• Eliminate bus monitors: Volunteers could serve as state mandated safety monitors on school buses for children in kindergarten through grade 5.

• Increase municipal involvement in school budgets: The mayor, administrator or manager of a city or town would be empowered to approve school budgets and exercise line item veto. They also would have final

approval over teacher contracts.

• Alter health care plans for retirees: Health care plans for employees and retirees could be made consistent.

Teacher union president: ‘Ridiculous’ and ‘unfair’ Frank Flynn, president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, called the elimination of step increases “ridiculous,” saying that teachers would never be able to get back the lost year (or years) of salary increase that they would have been due to receive. He also slammed the elimination of the bus monitors, saying it treats pupils in financially struggling communities with inequity.

“So if you’re a poor kind in Providence or Woonsocket, you don’t have to have a bus monitor,” Flynn said. “It’s patently unfair across the board.”

He opposes the elimination of nurse-teachers on the basis of the same principle of fairness. “If this policy is a good policy, which we believe it is, it should be across the board,” Flynn said.

Flynn is especially concerned about the plan to let the municipal side of local government determine how much funding goes to the schools, calling it a violation of the separation of powers between school committees and the rest of local government. The deficits that communities are facing are the result of unfunded mandates on the municipal side, Flynn added, concluding that money should not be taken from the school side to pay for problems in the rest of a municipal budget.

He said cities and towns can give more power over school budgets to city officials through charter amendments, which would be approved through a ballot measure. He said that process should remain in place, rather than changing it through statewide legislation.

Flynn also questioned why the bill singles out teachers by excluding them from a relief provision it offers to unions for police and firefighters, whom he said can go through an arbitration process if they object over the new measures being instituted. “They don’t have a similar provision in for school department side unions,” Flynn said. “I find that to be extremely unusual.”

(A spokesperson for the governor’s office did not respond to a request to comment on the criticisms of union officials directed at the municipal reform proposal.)

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The Union Stewards Prayer Grant me, Oh Lord, the genius to explain to my brothers and sisters the policies and plans of our great union even though no one explains them to me.

Give me the understanding that I may forgive the apathetic member, curb the overly ambitious member, and accept the views of the member who does nothing until I have done something... and then tells me what I should have done and how I should have done it.

Oh Lord, make me formidable in debate, logical in argument and fearless in confrontation.

Let me be a lawyer, actor, mathematician, sage, philosopher, sociologist, and economist; pleasing, cajoling, threatening, and belaboring so that I make the best of a good case and a good case from no case at all.

Teach me, Oh Lord, to stand at all times with both feet firmly on the ground ….

Even when I don’t have a leg to stand on.

Page 4

Common Ground

MAY 2012

Pensions, continued from page 1 reform plan from the governor’s office.

For those who are still able to work, Hanos questioned whether the proposal was still fair. “If he’s able to become gainfully employed but there’s no job for him … think about that,” Hanos said.

Or, he added, the retiree may be able to find employment, but, because of the economy, only at a minimum wage job that doesn’t make up for what he lost in his disability pension.

COLA debate Boisclair disputed some of the numbers being used to justify the reduction of COLAs for the fire department and police retirees in Pawtucket. He said the administration had circulated figures that showed that the city would save $2.3 million next year in COLAs for public safety, when, in fact, he said the actual savings would be $250,000. “It’s funny how they throw out these large numbers,” Boisclair said.

However, the director of

administration for the city, Tony Pires, said the $2.3 million figure is not one produced by the administration. He speculated that it originated with an actuary report on the pension fund, which he was not able to immediately confirm during an interview. He added that the city is not focused on annual savings from the COLA reduction, but instead on the multi-million impact it would have on the unfunded liability of $140 million for the fire department and police pensions.

Boisclair maintains that the city math is faulty. He compared the city’s calculations to the absurdity of an electric company telling a ratepayer he would need to come up with all the money for his electric bills for the next 20 years. “That’s not the case,” Boisclair said. “It’s the same with the COLAs.” Pires countered that such calculations are very much based on realistic projections of what could happen.

“Ask the folks in Central Falls how that

fund has less than 60 percent of what it needs to pay pensions in the future, which threatens its ability to provide any retirement benefits in years to come.

When the unfunded pension liability is combined with the unfunded liability for retiree health care, the city is in the red by half a billion dollars.

He said the city’s chief priority is to avoid bankruptcy, receivership or state financial oversight.

“The fact remains that the ship has hit the iceberg,” Pires said. “This is the problem we have inherited, and we’re doing our best to bail the city out.”

But public safety labor leaders are nonetheless deeply disturbed by what they say is another anti-labor move at the behest of state authorities. “I just can’t stand this attack on public service,” Hanos said. “It’s an outrage.”

(A spokesperson for the governor’s office did not respond to a request to comment on the criticisms of local union officials directed at the municipal reform proposal.)

argument has prevailed there,” Pires said.

City: We’ve hit an iceberg But he did agree with Boisclair that unions are not necessarily to blame for the financial ailments that afflict cities such as Pawtucket, and that blame rests with past administrations for not paying into the pension funds. “They’re not wrong and no one certainly in the City of Pawtucket would deny that,” Pires said. “Our response unfortunately is that … we’re being held accountable for previous agreements the city is not in a position to pay for.”

Other factors contributed to the problem too, Pires noted: the underperformance of the financial market during the recession and assumptions built into the city pension plans that have proven to be unfounded over time, including the mortality rates among retirees.

The uncomfortable reality facing the city now, Pires said, is that its pension

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MAY 2012

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Purchasing long-term care insurance is like searching for a needle in a haystack

By John Edes

Few subjects are as mysterious to consumers as insurance, and few types of insurance confuse buyers more than long-term care insurance.

To increase your understanding of long-term care (LTC) insurance, let’s begin with the answers to some frequently asked questions: What is long-term care? Who needs LTC coverage? Won’t government entitlements provide this protection? And exactly what does LTC protect against?

Long-term care is, in its simplest form, the help required by people who suffer a long illness or disability.

Help can be provided in the form of nursing home care or as home custodial care, in which a person receives assistance with so-called activities of daily living (ADLs) such as dressing or bathing.

Who requires long-term care? According to a study by the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging, of all Americans who are 65 or older today, one-half of the women and one-third of the men can expect to spend at least 2.5 years in a nursing home.

But not all those people are candidates for LTC insurance. People with an estate value, excluding homes, of less than $100,000, and those with more than $2 million in assets are not prime LTC candidates.

In the first example LTC may not be appropriate due to cost, especially when purchased after the age of 70. That group is more likely to qualify for Medicaid assistance after “spending down� their assets, although freedom of choice is sacrificed in such instances because under Medicaid, the government decides what is the appropriate care and facility. The latter group obviously has the means to meet long-term care costs. But beware that the costs can be high; annual nursing home costs can range from $20,000 to $80,000 per year.

Medicare provides excellent medical coverage for a short-term health crisis such as cancer surgery or a heart operation, but it is not designed to meet the costs associated with long-term care needs. Assuming that national health care reform ever becomes a reality, will the government provide some sort of LTC coverage

for everyone? At this point, all we can do is guess. But when you consider the enormity and cost of providing basic health insurance for all citizens, you have to wonder where the government is going to come up with additional funds for long-term care.

So if you determine that an LTC policy is for you, what should you look for? Guidelines offered by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners provide a good starting point.

First, all companies will offer a buyer’s guide that can help you decide whether coverage is appropriate

for your situation. A flexible LTC policy does not require hospitalization or nursing home confinement for benefits to kick in. It should also guarantee that coverage cannot be canceled because of age or medical conditions, and it should offer an inflation protection rider.

Pay close attention to the fine print. Look to see if the policy covers cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. Some will exclude those. Also, check the time and financial limits on nursing home stays and home health care costs.

Remember: The majority of long-term care providers are family members. A middle-aged person can spend as much time caring for a parent as raising children. Although they are costlier than more restrictive policies, LTC coverage based on the loss of function to perform ADLs is more flexible, allowing for benefits to flow to a family member who may have to leave a full-time job to care for a parent.

Then there is cost to consider. An 80-year-old can pay as much as four times more for the same coverage as a 65-year-old and nine times as much as a 50-year-old.

Increasing numbers of people are buying LTC coverage, and many have done so because experience with family members or friends has made them aware of the need.

For many people, switching from disability insurance, which protects against lost income due to disability, to LTC coverage near retirement age is a painless transition. When you think about it, a person who needs long-term care is every bit as disabled as an employee or business owner who can’t work. The biggest difference between the two is that LTC insurance offers asset protection as opposed to disability insurance, which is income protection. And as our population grows older together, LTC is something more of us will need to consider.

John C. Edes is a registered representative of Equity Services Inc, 875 Centerville Road, Building 1, Warwick.

Contact him at (401 ¡828-2090, extension 305.

Page 6

Common Ground

MAY 2012

Side effects of life-saving cancer drugs shouldn’t be endangering the lives of others

By Jim Mullowney and Theresa L. O’Keefe

Given cancer’s rank as the second leading cause of death in America, many researchers are naturally focused on creating more effective oncology drugs with fewer side effects. That means conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy continues to be one of the primary treatments for many cancers, which is both good news and bad news.

The good news is chemotherapy saves lives. People, who would not have survived a generation or even a decade ago, are alive today because of chemotherapy. The bad news is because cancer is such an aggressive foe, it requires aggressive treatment. And cytotoxic drugs are among the most potent chemicals on earth.

Consider this warning from a typical chemotherapy drug material safety data sheet: “May cause cancer, reproductive injury, or harm to children and the unborn -including birth defects.”

The fact is addressing the public health issues related to chemotherapy treatment is long overdue. We can no longer ignore the question of what becomes of powerful cancer drugs after they exit the patient’s system via urine, stool and even sweat. The American Cancer Society has issued guidance on protecting caregivers from those excreted chemicals, but it’s not enough. We need to take a bold next step. We need to keep the chemicals out of our environment.

Regarding the dangerous drugs contained in chemo “cocktails,” some break down in the patient’s body. However, others remain fully functional in bodily excretions, including urine and feces. Septic systems are a major concern because they lack the dilutive effect of thousands of households contributing to larger municipal waste water systems. Concentrated drug buildup within those small systems can lead to system failure, introducing cytotoxic drugs into drinking water supplied by wells.

Studies have triggered serious attention of regulators in Europe, Canada and the United States. A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, for example, expressed special concern about the potential for biological effects of low dose, long-term exposure to cytotoxic drugs on sensitive members of the population, including children and the unborn.

The issue has also gained traction in Massachusetts. State Sen. James B. Eldridge, D-Acton, has filed a bill (Senate 1089) that would require physicians to provide chemotherapy patients with the means to collect and dispose of bodily wastes for the first few days after their treatment when chemo drugs are leaving the body. A similar bill (Senate 2640) was filed in Rhode Island by state Sen. John Tassoni (publisher of Common Ground), D-Smithfield, for the 2012 session. Those bills, which also seek to incorporate disposal into the treatment cost, couldn’t be timelier.

The truth is, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), no exposure level to cytotoxic drugs is safe. And at the final stage of use, those drugs are literally being flushed down the toilet. In the case of a house with a septic system, they’re polluting the leaching field and poisoning the well.

As concerned scientists and citizens, we have created a company totally dedicated to maintaining a healthy environment for patients and their families. What’s more, we are 100 percent prepared to work with health care providers to educate families on safe procedures and to begin the collection and disposal of toxic chemo waste.

With an estimated 1.5 million people annually receiving chemotherapy in this country, mostly as outpatients and some even in the home, it’s time to take action.

It’s time to protect chemo patients, their families, future generations and the greater environment.

Pharma-Cycle offers an all-inclusive solution. Our patent-pending container collects and immediately chemically sequesters and neutralizes all drugs. We then safely collect the stabilized waste and securely dispose of it.

Is such an effort extreme? Given the stakes, we don’t think so. We strongly believe that safe collection and disposal of chemo patient waste is a reasonable and logical final extension of the continuum of cytotoxic drugs from the scientific bench to the patient’s bedside.

Clearly, those drugs are very dangerous. Chemo drug manufacturers wear what are essentially “spacesuits.” Pharmacists who prepare the drugs isolate themselves in biologic Level 3 safety cabinets. OSHA regulations require chemo nurses to be masked and gowned.

In that type of process, to err may be human, but to err on the side of caution is divine.

Jim Mullowney is a chemist and president of Pharma- Cycle Inc. Theresa L. O’Keefe the company’s chief scientific officer. A related Centers for Disease Control fact sheet is available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm.

Company aims to protect caretakers of chemotherapy patients

By Jim Mullowney and Theresa L. O’Keefe Being a caretaker in the field of cancer treatment is not without significant risks. Chemotherapy drugs are powerful weapons, and while they have many well-known side effects, they also have some that are not so well known. Among them are miscarriages, birth defects and cancer, and all them can be triggered in patients’ caretakers and family members. To establish a permanent line of defense against such side effects, Pharma-Cycle Inc. has developed the Family Safe System.

Hundreds of drugs are used to fight cancer. The most powerful are cytotoxic. They kill cancer cells anywhere in the body. Unfortunately, they also kill fast-growing healthy cells. Side effects include hair loss and susceptibility to infection. A patient can even develop other cancers that don’t appear for several years. For example, cyclophosphamide, which is used to treat breast cancer, can later lead to bladder cancer.

Furthermore, roughly two dozen cancer fighting medications, including cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, 5-FU and etoposide, present an additional danger. They are excreted in an active form that lasts two to five days after an infusion, which means a patient’s sweat, saliva, vomit, urine and feces contain huge quantities of dangerous drugs. Anyone who touches contaminated fluids while cleaning the toilet, helping the patient as he or she vomits or with any other task caretakers selflessly perform, can absorb dangerous amounts of the active cytotoxic drug.

Once inside the caregiver’s body, the cytotoxic drug will attack any fast growing cell, causing cancer or other damage. If the caretaker is pregnant, the baby can develop birth defects undetectable for years or even die.

Babies and children in particular are at a huge risk because so many of their cells are rapidly growing.

Another concern is that many of the two dozen bad actors do not go away when flushed down the toilet. Wastewater treatment and drinking water purification can’t remove them, which means a patient’s urine can contaminate his property and cause cancer for years to come.

Pharma-Cycle’s Family Safe System can help. The home kit contains a two-day treatment supply, including disposable sheets, utensils and drinking straws. Most importantly, it contains the critical devices a patient needs to collect urine, stool and vomit during the two danger days. Once the fluids are captured, Pharma-Cycle’s patent-pending reagent quickly stabilizes and neutralizes the dangerous chemical. Pharma-Cycle collects the containers and transports them to a reliable disposal facility.

The outcomes are a safe water supply, a safe family and a safe environment for everyone.

Jim Mullowney is president of Pharma-Cycle Inc. and invented the company’s critical reagent. Theresa L. O’Keefe is Pharma-Cycle’s chief scientific officer.

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Common Ground

Page 7

MAY 2012

AFL-CIO executive board endorses Sen. Whitehouse, Reps. Langevin, Cicilline

The executive board of the Rhode Island AFLCIO unanimously voted recently to endorse the re-election bids of U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen James Langevin and David Cicilline in the November 2012 elections.

Each candidate was given the opportunity to address the executive board as to why they deserved the endorsement of the union, which represents nearly 80,000 workers.

Sen. Whitehouse spoke of two high-profile bills he has sponsored in the Senate this year.

One is the so-called Buffett Bill, which would place a minimum tax on income over $1 million.

The other is the Disclose Act, which calls for Super PACs to reveal their donors so the public is aware of who is attempting to influence the political process. The senator also discussed his strong support for infrastructure improvements that would bring much needed construction jobs to Rhode Island and improve America’s transportation system to make it competitive in a 21st century global economy.

Cyber security, Rep. Langevin’s signature issues, was the focus of his remarks. Langevin said cyber security is a national security issue as well as a job creation and job protection issue. It is a security matter because domestic businesses must be protected from foreign interests looking

to weaken the American economy through acts of theft and fraud. He explained there is a great need to increase the education and training opportunities for American workers to recognize and defeat cyber security threats.

Rep. Cicilline highlighted the Make it In America Block Grant Program, which he has sponsored in the House of Representatives.

The program will provide competitive grants to help small to medium-sized manufacturers hardest hit by the Great Recession retool, retrofit their facilities and train employees so they can maintain their work forces, create new jobs and come out of the recession stronger. The Make it in America program is especially important to the Rhode Island manufacturing sector, which has lost more than 11,000 jobs during the recession.

State AFL-CIO President George Nee said, “Rhode Island is extremely lucky to have a congressional delegation that is focused on what really matters – health care, education and jobs so America can get back on track and be stronger going into the future.”

Maureen Martin, secretary treasurer, added, “I am glad Rhode Island has politicians who are concerned with the well-being all Americans, not just the 1 percent.”

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Common Ground

MAY 2012

RI-CAN receives an F for assessment of public schools

By Tom Hoffman

Op-ed

When an advocacy group needs some press and hits on its Web site, a surefire method is to release some rankings. People love nice simple best and worst lists of things such as cities, states, schools and football teams.

In April, school reform advocates behind the Rhode Island Campaign for Achievement Now (RI-CAN) took a page from that playbook and released report cards and rankings for each of the state’s public primary and secondary schools. However, RI-CAN’s methodology is so simplistic and flawed that the only clear loser is RICAN’s reputation for rigor, accuracy or even interest in educational data.

The rankings were criticized not only by the leadership of the state’s teachers’ unions, but notably by The Learning Community, a Central Falls-based charter school that fared well in the rankings. Even Education Commissioner Deborah Gist pointed out that the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) has specifically chosen not to rank schools based on a single assessment like RI-CAN did.

In short, RI-CAN has chosen to base its rankings on a small sliver of publicly available data on Rhode Island’s schools -- data gathered and posted online at great expense based on RI-CAN promoted policies such as Rhode Island’s Race to the Top plan.

RI-CAN’s achievement rankings are based only

on the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) reading and math tests; not science, not writing, even though Rhode Islanders pay to give those tests every year; not the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Preliminary SAT, Advance Placement or any other tests; and certainly not any other measure of student learning or achievement.

Nor does RI-CAN include attendance data, graduation rates, disciplinary data or the results of extensive surveys collected from students, teachers, administrators and parents annually at significant public expense.

In overall and demographic subgroup performance, RI-CAN only looked at one year’s worth of data for one grade level in each school, significantly decreasing ranking reliability. The near universal approach is to include multiple years and grade levels.

By its own admission, RI-CAN’s measurement of performance gains is less reliable in schools that do not have a stable population. Unfortunately, that describes several of the highest gainers such as Blackstone Valley Prep and the lowest performers such as all of the Providence schools that took in an influx of students from the schools closed and reorganized at the end of the last school year.

RI-CAN’s entire analysis of in-school achievement

gaps is a waste of time in a state that is heavily segregated by district and school. Most urban schools don’t have enough white or high- and middle-income students to even calculate an achievement gap, and the opposite is often true in the suburbs. Blackstone Valley Prep gets the top score for African-American achievement based on at most seven students attending in both the fifth and sixth grades.

Nor is it clear that RI-CAN’s rankings support its own policy prescriptions. Charter schools do well, but schools following the “success schools” formula it advocates, focusing on data-driven instruction and increased instructional time, such as Providence’s Sackett Street School languish at the bottom of the performance rankings. Does RI-CAN encourage or discourage parents from attending the schools following its prescriptions?

RI-CAN has demonstrated it doesn’t take school achievement data seriously: It is unclear why anyone would take anything else RI-CAN purports seriously at all.

Tom Hoffman is a former teacher in the Providence Public School District and member of the PTU. He now manages SchoolTool, a project that creates free and open source software for schools in the developing world.

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Common Ground

MAY 2012

Page 9

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Page 10

Common Ground

MAY 2012

Boston’s Teamsters highlight autism at Annual Light Up the Night Gala

Teamsters Local 25’s Annual Light Up the Night Gala was hosted at the Intercontinental Hotel in Boston last month. The Light Up the Night Gala promotes awareness and raises funds for autism research. The gala featured a reception, silent auction, live band and dancing. Entertainment for the event included Randy Price, co-anchor of WCVB-TV’s “EyeOpener,” New England’s #1 early morning newscast, Christopher Duffley, a 10- year old blind and Autistic singer and multi-instrumentalist and the Marsels, New England’s premier musical entertainers.

Since its inception in 2008, the Gala has not only served as a major autism awareness event, but also a critical fundraiser for local programs that help autistic children.

The Light up the Night Gala honored individuals and groups who are working to educate the public about autism, largely considered the fastest growing medical threat to children, with one in 110 children and one in 70 boys being diagnosed annually.

Teamsters Local 25 believe that the community as a whole is an integral piece of the puzzle to find a cure for

Autism. In five years, the gala has raised more than half a million dollars for autism research and awareness. Teamsters Local 25 members are from Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire, and their fundraisers have included walks, motorcycles rides, golf tournaments and an annual Gala.

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Common Ground

MAY 2012

Page 11

Building nursing education center would be example of doing things right

By Michael Sabitoni and Laurie White

With T.F. Green Airport upgrades now back on track, the building trades and the business community have another game-changing, collaborative project in sight; the proposal by Rhode Island College (RIC) and the University of Rhode Island (URI) to build a nursing sciences education and research center in Providence.

The feasibility study commissioned by the General Assembly is complete, and the recommendations for moving forward are exciting. Gov. Lincoln Chafee has included provisions for the facility in his fiscal 2013 budget, and we are enthusiastically supportive of the vision. The $65 million project, which also could take the form of a public/ private partnership, addresses many needs and considerations. In addition to unleashing a torrent of jobs at a time when they are desperately needed, other benefits include: • Resolving the woefully insufficient public nursing education facilities at RIC and URI. The present facilities

are antiquated, uninspiring and not in keeping with the standards of excellence we would all expect.

• Providing a pipeline of jobs for Rhode Islanders along all points of the skills and economic spectrum.

The state Department of Labor and Training notes that half of all the jobs expected to be created through 2018, will relate to health care delivery and research. In their respective leadership roles, URI, RIC and the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) share a vision to honor diversity by attracting, educating and graduating a student body that mirrors the Ocean State’s own ethnic and racial diversity.

• Establishing the most technologically advanced nursing simulation education facility in the Northeast to educate students at all levels in the science of solving and caring for complex, real-life health care challenges within a low-risk learning environment.

• Doubling the number of highly skilled nursing graduates in Rhode Island by 2020 to address the looming shortage of professional nurses in the state and nation.

• Providing continuing and advanced practice education to hundreds of nurses over the next decade to meet the immediate elevated practice, leadership and educational demands of today’s health care environment.

• Stimulating preparation of greater numbers of nursing faculty educators to staff Rhode Island’s nursing education programs and build the capacity of those programs to educate more students.

• Fostering innovative teaching and translational research in collaboration with the many medical facilities and health care partners already co-located in the Knowledge District.

• Establishing Rhode Island as a national center of distinction for state-of-the-art education of nurses

and promoting the economic development of the state in the critically important health care sector.

It is time to act. The cost of new construction is very favorable, and the pent up demand for jobs and economic activity is feverish. Rhode Island’s unemployment rate, particularly in the construction trades, continues to be frightening. Likewise, hundreds of small businesses and their fragile work force are sidelined waiting for the next wave of building activity. With all the sobering issues on our horizon, here’s a process and a result that we can all get behind. It could be a lifesaver on many dimensions — literally and figuratively.

Michael Sabitoni is president of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council and Laurie White is president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce.

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Common Ground

MAY 2012

Nurses, union members protest Women & Infants’ hiring freeze Hundreds of nurses and their fellow union members at Women & Infants Hospital picketed last month to call on hospital administrators to improve staffing levels by lifting a months-long hiring freeze and hire local nurses for permanent positions – instead of staffing with temporary, subcontracted “traveler” nurses as management is proposing.

The nurses also fear that the use of high-priced out-of-state travelers, who are also not familiar with the hospital’s operations or dedicated to its mission, would imperil the consistently high patient satisfaction and quality ratings that the Hospital receives. In addition, the use of traveler nurses could displace local nurse graduates and experienced

nurses who could be hired on a permanent basis.

“There are local nurses and health care workers who would love the chance to work at Women & Infants,” said Sukie Ream, a registered nurse from the labor and delivery room who lives in Pawtucket. “We certainly need the staff, and the Hospital should post permanent positions and hire people from our community. Not only would that help maintain our high level of care here at Women & Infants, but it would also help to strengthen Rhode Island’s economy.”

The disorganization of the Hospital’s current staffing pattern calls for many per diem staff nurses, who were asked to cover shifts for vacations,

The nurses vowed to continue pressing forward after last month’s picketing.

“We’re not going to give up until we ensure safe staffing levels,” said Ream.

“We need it, and our patients deserve it.”

Nearly 2000 nursing, technical, clerical, and service & maintenance staff at Women & Infants Hospital belong to SEIU District 1199NE. District 1199 is the largest health care workers union in New England, with 22,000 members in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Southeast Massachusetts. It is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). For more information, visit www.seiu1199ne.org.

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Kristen Snow is a registered nurse who has worked at Women & Infants for 4 years, beginning as a part-time nurse on the night shift. Since last October, she has worked as a per diem employee, primarily in Triage and the Mother-Baby Unit.

“Over the last six months,” said Snow, “I have regularly worked about 50 hours per week. It’s not really per diem, these are basically full-time hours. I can’t see why the Hospital doesn’t just end its hiring freeze, post more positions, and hire more local nurses. We need permanent, dedicated staff so that we can continue providing high quality care for our community.”

Common Ground

MAY 2012

Page 13

Is Rep. Ryan’s GOP 2013 budget proposal good or bad for retirees and working Americans?

By John A. Pernorio

The Alliance for Retired Americans, which has 4 million members nationwide, including 30,000 in Rhode Island, is strongly opposed to the proposed fiscal 2013 federal spending package released last month by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Budget Committee.

As feared, the plan would harm the middle class while providing a windfall for millionaires. Ryan’s budget makes deep, lasting cuts to many domestic programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and those for nutrition and housing. Meanwhile, it increases defense spending by $228 billion through 2022. The Ryan budget would also repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), leaving 34 million people without health insurance coverage.

While the budget gives the appearance of eliminating certain tax breaks for the wealthy, it then uses those very savings to fund other tax cuts.

Most alarming perhaps are its proposals to end Medicare as we know it. While his plans for Social Security are not as direct, don’t be fooled: Ryan is still on a mission to privatize Social Security in ways that would leave the program and its critical trust fund on life support. Those proposals spell danger for the millions of people who rely on Social Security and for the millions who are counting on it to be there in when they retire.

The budget proposal replaces Medicare’s guaranteed benefits with a

“premium support” voucher payment that beneficiaries would use toward the cost of private insurance or traditional Medicare, starting in 2023. The amount of the voucher would be based on the second cheapest available plan in the area. There is no guarantee that the payment would actually cover enough of a premium to actually make health care affordable.

In fact, it is likely that beneficiaries would be left with increased out of pocket costs because Ryan’s plan caps the amount of the voucher at the gross domestic product plus .5 percent, far below the growth in health insurance costs in recent years.

Medicare works for many reasons.

One of them is that the volume of beneficiaries gives administrators stronger bargaining power when negotiating rates with providers, keeping costs down for the government and the consumer. Under the Ryan plan, private insurers would cherry pick the younger, healthier and less expensive beneficiaries. Leaving Medicare with a disproportionate share of the oldest, sickest and costliest participants would drive up costs for the program and set it on an unsustainable path.

Ryan’s instructions to the Congressional Budget Office accompanying the spending package included a proposal that would raise the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 over 12 years, beginning in 2023 for people born in 1958. That would

increase out-of-pocket health care costs by $4,300 a year for nearly 1 million individuals ages 65 and 66. That segment of the population faces the most difficulty in obtaining insurance due to chronic health conditions.

Because Ryan’s plan repeals the ACA, those seniors would be left uninsured or would have to get a job that provides health insurance and people over 55 years old have the most difficulty finding new employment.

The budget proposal would block grant Medicaid, shifting costs onto already cash-strapped states by forcing them to provide funding or cut Medicaid benefits as costs increase.

That would be devastating to older Americans that need Medicaid for longterm care coverage.

Ryan’s spending plan addresses Social Security in intentionally general terms.

Outside of calling for a “bipartisan path forward” and establishing a fasttrack procedure designed to force cuts to Social Security, there are not a lot of details. As chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan would have a say in charting the unknown “bipartisan” path, and if his proposals are anything like what he included in his 2010 Roadmap for America’s Future, Social Security would certainly be on the road to ruins.

Under the Ryan roadmap, Americans age 55 and younger would be allowed to invest a third of their Social Security contribution into a private account.

While there would be a one-time payment of $2 billion to the trust fund to ensure continued benefits for those 55-plus and those not participating, it is unclear what would happen if that amount turns out to be insufficient.

Under current law, new retirees get benefits based on growth in wages.

Under the Ryan Roadmap, initial benefits would be calculated based on the growth in prices, which over time grow at a slower rate. That would impact 70 percent of beneficiaries and would cut benefits by roughly 16 percent for the average new retiree in 2050 and 28 percent in 2080.

Ryan dismisses the idea of raising the earnings cap, inaccurately arguing that doing so would have a “limited direct impact on the solvency of the program.” According to the Social Security actuary, however, lifting the cap and adjusting benefits would address half of the Social Security shortfall. Likewise, if all earnings were subject to the payroll tax but benefits were not adjusted, the Social Security Trust Fund would remain solvent for the next 75 years.

John A. Pernorio is president of the Alliance for Retired Americans. Contact him at japernorio_riara@hotmail.com.

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Page 14

Common Ground

MAY 2012

The PTSD plague: How firefighters can recognize, conquer a debilitating condition

By Michael J. Blackburn Brave. Heroic. Strong. Those words define a firefighter. Inhuman. Immortal. Immune. Those words, however, don’t.

Firefighters are some of the most courageous men and women imaginable, but each and every day they’re also at an extremely high risk of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD can have such an impact on firefighters -- and in turn those around them -- that it can become emotionally, mentally and physically crippling. This column will address PTSD warning signs and what you can do if you or someone you know has the disorder.

The Mayo Clinic defines PTSD as “a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event.”

Anxiety, which is often associated with PTSD, can be caused by any kind of trauma such as an accident, crime or war.

Firefighters are surrounded daily by what most of us consider terrifying events, and that’s exactly why PTSD is so common in the field.

Many firefighters who suffer from PTSD develop family and work problems because of the symptoms, including: • Nightmares.

• Daily stresses and anxieties.

• Difficulty concentrating.

• Hallucinations or delusions.

• Memory loss.

• Numbness toward emotions.

• Panic attacks.

• Feeling guilty, hopeless or shameful.

• Sudden flashbacks.

I know a fellow firefighter who eventually left his unit due to PTSD. Drug and alcohol abuse is also a common PTSD result, which can have a significantly negative impact on health, relationships, job performance and beyond.

psychologist who treats firefighters and police officers, said she accommodates her patients’ desire for absolute Here are some scary statistics: confidentiality by seeing them in an office with a NYC.gov reported that among 8,487 firefighters private parking lot and rear entrance. who enrolled in the New York City Fire Department’s We want to open up the lines of communication World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and and spread not only the awareness surrounding PTSD, Treatment Program, 12 percent screened positive for but also the hope for a solution. Finding a solid probable PTSD symptoms in the first six months after support system that works as a reassuring presence, 9/11. Public safety officers faced tragedy head-on as discussing PTSD coping strategies and utilizing they cleared the bodies and wreckage, including many critical incident stress management (CISM) teams are of their own colleagues, thus causing anxiety, and/or wonderful tools in staving off the risks. the use of alcohol and drugs to numb the pain.

Immediate help at the time of a traumatic incident Dr. Marc Lougassi, a firefighter and faculty member is imperative, and following up at a second meeting of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, should be mandated so that team members can watch recently conducted a study that found 24 percent for those that may be seriously affected. of active firefighters in his country suffer from full In my next column, I will discuss critical incident PTSD, 67 percent display partial PTSD while only 9 stress, which, unlike PTSD, is a shorter-term affliction percent showed no symptoms. The study has been well that affects many firefighters, and how support from publicized and is helping to increase overall awareness CISM teams can minimize the likelihood of PTSD. of the issue.

Michael J. Blackburn is senior vice president of According to the New York Times, the number of Treatment Solutions Network. Contact him at New York City firefighters and emergency medical mikeb@tsnemail.com or (401) 255-4622. service workers being treated for alcohol and drug abuse in 2004 was more than 50 percent higher than it was in 2003, a percentage increase related to a higher rate of PTSD cases.

Drug addicts and alcoholics are often too ashamed to ask for help, and the same goes for those with mental illness. Many firefighters and public safety officers battling PTSD hide their affliction because they’re the ones who are supposed to be the strongest and most unbreakable.

Staying silent is the worst way to go and only leads to further mental and physical health issues. After Jack Serving the City of Providence since 1854 Slavinski, a Philadelphia firefighter and former Marine, committed suicide last year, his wife and colleagues spoke out, saying they believed Jack had suffered with PTSD for seven years. ABC NewsPROVIDENCE reported FIRE FIGHTERS LOCAL 799 that Francine Roberts, a New Jersey-based clinical INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS

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Common Ground

MAY 2012

Page 15

Second anniversary of health care reform law observed by officials at event in Providence

By Elizabeth Roberts

Last month marked the second anniversary of the passage of the national health reform bill known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Americans have already seen several of the legislation’s popular provisions take effect yet for many people the verdict on the law is still out. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering the merits of the law with an expected ruling later this summer, but there are many Rhode Islanders already benefiting from different aspects of the ACA. As chair of the Rhode Island Healthcare Reform Commission, I recently hosted an event marking the second anniversary of the ACA at the Providence Picture Frame & Dryden Gallery with U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Tri-Regional Administrator Kathleen Otte from the U.S. Administration on Aging and representatives of the Rhode Island Health Coverage Project, Ocean State Action and other community partners.

During that event, I said although the country is still almost evenly divided over the ACA, Rhode Island officials are fully committed to ensuring that the Ocean State is a national leader in implementing health reform, which has already improved many lives.

The highlights of the event were Rhode Islanders who told their stories of exactly how they are benefiting from the reform law, which continues to provide thousands in the state with insurance protections, preventive benefits and resources to improve care.

For 22-year old Brianne of Providence, being able to

stay on her mother’s insurance because of a provision in the ACA “has been a relief financially and emotionally trying to make ends meet.” The recent University of Rhode Island graduate is working part time as a physical therapy aide and suffers from several allergies.

Her mother’s coverage has ensured that Brianne can get the frequent medical attention her condition requires.

As of June of last year, Brianne was one of over 7,500 young adults in Rhode Island who gained health coverage as a result of the reform law.

For frame shop owner Geoff, providing health coverage “is just the right thing to do.” Geoff was relieved to qualify for the Small Business Healthcare Tax Credit, a provision of the law made available in 2010 to make it more affordable for small businesses to offer health coverage to their employees. As a small business eligible for the credit, Geoff was able to claim an income tax deduction of up to 35 percent of premiums paid for his employees’ coverage and put that savings back into the business. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the tax credit will save U.S. small businesses $40 billion by 2019.

Jane, a senior citizen in affordable housing, had to pay out of her own pocket for expensive, life-saving drugs when she reached the Medicare prescription drug coverage gap known as the doughnut hole. Jane was one of almost 15,800 Rhode Islanders on Medicare who received a $250 rebate to help cover the cost of their prescription drugs last year. Additionally, when more

than 14,800 Medicare beneficiaries in Rhode Island hit the doughnut hole in 2011, they received a 50 percent discount on their covered brand name prescription drugs. That discount yielded an average savings greater than $500 for each senior for a total savings of more than $8.2 million.

“The Affordable Care Act is already making a real difference for real people and real families in Rhode Island by improving access to higher quality care, reducing health care costs and giving Rhode Islanders new and better choices,” Sen. Whitehouse said.

“Through her work to set up the state health insurance exchange, Lieutenant Governor Roberts is helping Rhode Island lead the way in expanding access to quality care and driving down costs.”

The event’s lineup also included Rhode Island Health Insurance Commissioner Chris Koller, state Secretary of Health and Human Services Steven Costantino and Rhode Island Healthcare Reform Commission members. Also featured was an exhibit of artwork by students in Rhode School of Design instructor Lindsay Kinkade’s visual and graphic design class. The exhibit, “Making It (Health Care Reform) Understandable,” was introduced by Bill Newkirk, the college’s dean of architecture and design.

Elizabeth Roberts is lieutenant governor of Rhode Island.

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Page 16

Common Ground

MAY 2012

Satisfactory highway safety still an elusive destination

By Barry Schiller

Though the toll has dropped in recent years, there are still more than 30,000 Americans killed and 1.5 million injured on the nation’s highways annually. The April 2012 Common Ground reported on one of those fatalities; the death of union highway worker Daniel Dinardi in Connecticut.

Indeed, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children up to age 12. The U.S. highway death rate is considerably higher than developed countries such as Canada, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

This country’s highway fatalities are well below a peak of about 45,000 annual deaths, and reasons for the drop include better infrastructure, safer vehicles with better brakes and airbags, stricter laws on seat belt use and drunk driving and driver highway training and educational campaigns. But the U.S. death rate is still about 84 people per day. We would not accept terrorists killing 84 Americans every day, and we should not accept such a highway death rate either. More can and should be done.

The Rhode Island General Assembly, which in recent years passed tougher laws against drunk driving, banned text messaging while driving and made seat belt use mandatory, is considering additional measures this year. For example, due to studies indicating distracted driving can be as dangerous as drunk driving, there is a bill (Senate 2223) to ban most use of non-hands free cell phone use while driving. The National Traffic Safety Administration recommended states consider such a ban. There are bills to tighten drunk driving laws, allowing judges to mandate an ignition-interlock device (House bill 7332) and extend the look back time in some driving under the influence of alcohol cases (House bill 7179.)

We have a societal interest in encouraging biking and walking as ways to travel because they help health, the environment and since they use no petroleum we need to import, the economy. In that vein, there are bills filed in the General Assembly to require “complete streets” planning when a

roadway is built or reconstructed; and to mandate due consideration be given to making the roadway safe for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users as well a motorists.

There are bills that establish penalties if a careless driver kills or injures a “vulnerable road user,” including a pedestrian, bicyclist, wheelchair user and highway worker. Under existing law, motorists can avoid consequences unless the state can show criminal intent. Similarly, there is legislation to up penalties when a motorist committing a violation such as running a red light or stop sign causes a fatality or injury. In response to an accident in which a pedestrian was killed on the sidewalk by a driver operating an unsafe vehicle and then faced no charges, there is a bill (House 7207) to deal with such a situation.

Information about all those bills is available on the legislature’s Web site at www.rilin.state.ri.us. Because Rhode Island is small, state government is relatively close to all citizens, and there is plenty of opportunity for input on

legislation at hearings, at the start and end of state Transportation Advisory Committee meetings, by contacting legislators or being involved with related advocacy groups. For examples of such organizations, go online to aaa.com or ribike.org.

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation also programs about $30 million annually for highway safety in its capital budget. Much of it goes for traffic signals, signage, striping and drainage and intersection improvements.

People concerned with safety should note the role of public transit. Buses are more than 10 times safer than automobiles per passenger mile and commuter rail is almost as safe as bus transportation, making public transit a safety measure.

Barry Schiller is a member of the Rhode Island Planning Council’s Transportation Advisory Committee and can be reached at bschiller@locanet.com.

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Common Ground

MAY 2012

Page 17

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Common Ground

MAY 2012

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Common Ground

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Common Ground

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